Beatles Tape Suspect Released On Bail

March 1, 1985|By Jon Peck, Staff Writer

Michael Riebel, charged this week in the theft of the master tape of an unreleased Beatles album, was freed Thursday after his parents put up their Boca Raton home as a guarantee he would show up for future court appearances.

Riebel, an unemployed musician, refused to discuss his case as he and his parents entered an elevator to leave the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach.

Riebel, 30, showed up for his second court date of the week wearing the T- shirt, black vinyl pants and blond hair cut into a dyed-orange tail he had sported for his initial appearance hours after his Tuesday morning arrest.

During a brief bond hearing, Riebel told U.S. Magistrate Ann Vitunac he understood his parents could lose their $115,000 house if he did not appear in federal court in New Jersey to face the charges against him. His parents used their Affirmed Lane home as collateral for a $25,000-bail promissory note.

Riebel is accused of stealing the master recording of unreleased conversations and songs by the Beatles, which had been compiled to be released as an album titled John, Paul, George and Ringo.

The master tape was recovered when Riebel was arrested. The FBI said a cassette version of the master tape is still missing, but it is not an album- quality duplicate.

The master was stored in a vault at Studio Systems and Transport Co. of Jersey City, which had planned to distribute the album for Christmas 1983 until Yoko Ono, widow of slain ex-Beatle John Lennon, won a court order blocking its release.

Studio Systems president John Hanti said the album includes Christmas messages recorded by the Beatles for their fan-club members, as well as other studio conversations and songs.

According to the FBI complaint that led to the arrest, Riebel had worked for Studio Systems driving vans, mixing sound and delivering equipment. He was not authorized to enter the vault, where the master tapes were stored.

Hanti, Riebel`s former boss, said he fired Riebel two weeks ago. Hanti said he got a call from Riebel on Feb. 20 saying he had taken the Beatles` master recording and demanding money for its return. Otherwise, Riebel vowed to sell the tape to the highest bidder, Hanti said.

Riebel said in court he had come to Florida from New Jersey just a few days before his arrest. However, as he prepared to leave the federal building Thursday, he told an observer he had worked frequently in the West Palm Beach area. He did not elaborate.

Riebel`s next scheduled court appearance is a hearing Thursday to determine whether he should be returned to New Jersey, although he can waive the hearing and appear in Newark voluntarily. The charge of interstate transport of stolen goods carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.